Applying Strategies to Build Employment Opportunities
"While we strive to create opportunities for the millions of Americans with disabilities, it is critical to share methods for success across the nation. As more individuals with disabilities join the workforce, they feel the satisfaction of earning a paycheck and contributing to the economy."
— Elaine E. Katz, Senior Vice President of Grants and Communications
In 2014, Kessler Foundation awarded $2.7 million in employment grants bringing the total to $32 million distributed since 2005. Included were three Signature Employment Grants, the Foundation’s largest awards, 17 Community Employment Grants, and ten Special Initiative Grants.
Each month, Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD) distribute National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE), a custom report released in conjunction with the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report. nTIDE is authored by John O’Neill, PhD, director of Employment and Disability Research at Kessler Foundation, and Andrew Houtenville, PhD, associate professor of Economics at UNH-IOD. In 2014, the key employment indicators declined for people with disabilities; however, the initial signs of a reversal in this trend were apparent in the year’s last quarter. Private funding, corporate initiatives, and federal legislation are removing barriers and increasing the hiring and retention of people with disabilities.
Build Opportunities
Finding Solutions
Researchers at Kessler Foundation are studying ways to keep people with disabilities in the workplace. Lauren Strober, PhD, senior research scientist, and her colleagues identified a measurement tool for predicting employment in people with multiple sclerosis. This enables clinicians to provide at-risk individuals with strategies for maintaining employment. Dr. O’Neill launched a survey, in collaboration with Mathematica Policy Research, to study barriers and facilitators to employment in three states. A Signature Employment Grant to the University of New Hampshire funded the “Kessler Foundation National Employment Survey on the Status of Americans with Disabilities.” This nationally representative survey, the first to examine the workplace experiences of Americans with disabilities, will help legislators and policymakers expand employment opportunities.
Applying Grants to Create Jobs
Three organizations bestowed awards on Kessler Foundation for its leadership and commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities − the LADACIN Network’s Humanitarian Award, JVS’s Community Partner Award, and the New Jersey Theater Alliance’s Star Award for Outstanding Leadership.
Signature Employment Grants funded programs in Florida and Pennsylvania. A peer-run clubhouse program at ServiceSource’s Florida Regional Office benefits individuals with brain injury, including veterans. United Way of Allegheny County’s initiative, “21 and Able,” provides businesses with embedded professionals that support the integration of young people with disabilities. PepsiACT, a program funded with collaborators in 2013, reported initial successes in the hiring and retention of more than 40 people with disabilities at PepsiCo call centers and distribution centers in Minnesota, Nevada, and Texas. Pepsi ACT will expand to four more states in 2015.
Creating Jobs
*Kessler Foundation, Ability Beyond,
Poses Family Foundation, Autism Speaks,
New York Collaborates for Autism
Building Awareness
In the media, Kessler Foundation’s experts shared effective strategies for increasing employment options for people with disabilities. In the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, Katz highlighted the value of social enterprise businesses for creating jobs. The Caucus Educational Corporation broadcasted a series of TV segments on the cable show One-on-One with Steve Adubato that detailed successful models for creating job opportunities for people disabilities. The series featured Katz, Maureen Walliser of Hudson Community Enterprises—a New Jersey social enterprise funded by the Foundation—and Jack Fanous of The G.I. Go Fund—a Foundation grantee that connects veterans with jobs and services. At Mathematica’s Policy Research Forum, Dr. O’Neill, presented, “Getting a Job, Keeping a Job: Services and Supports that Promote Employment among People with Disabilities.” For the 24th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Rodger DeRose, president and chief executive officer, and Lauren Scrivo, senior communications specialist, shared their opinions on the importance of inclusion in the workplace in published op-eds.
Maureen Walliser of Hudson Community Enterprises—a New Jersey social enterprise funded by the Foundation
Elaine Katz,
Senior Vice President of Grants and Communications
2014 Employment Grants
totalled $2.7 million
